Peerless Cement

Project Description

The Peerless Cement plant was built in 1924 at 9600 West Jefferson Avenue at Brennan Street, on the Rouge River, in the southwestern “tip” of Detroit. The Peerless Cement plant was a huge 14-acre complex that was capable of producing 1,750,000 barrels of cement annually. The Peerless Cement plant employed around 350 men, and 80% of that output was sold in the Detroit area. Peerless Cement was known to produce a “super-cement,” which was an expensive mixture of concrete that was supposed to be stronger than any other cement. Peerless Cement had several other locations across Michigan.

The Peerless Cement plant had problems in the later years when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Quality Air Control (QAC) hade passed several laws that made working conditions better for employees. The biggest problem for Peerless Cement was that these hazardous conditions were “needed” to operate their machinery to produce cement. The Peerless Cement Plant received a number of violations and many employees began to file lawsuit against Peerless Cement. Peerless Cement was one of the Detroit locations with the highest number of mesothelioma complaints and lawsuits.

The Peerless Cement Plant was forced to close in 1999. The Peerless Cement plant has been abandoned ever since.

In 2011, many of the buildings were demolished at Peerless Cement.

As of 2015, Only the silos and the main storage building remain. There are no plans for demolition or redevelopment of this property.